"It turns out that the State Department has separately named these IRGC–QF officials in a new terrorist designation. And they include two especially notorious IRGC-QF officials – both of whom have American blood on their hands.

"One of the two is Abdul Reza Shahlai, an IRGC-QF officer who planned the Jan. 20, 2007 attack on U.S. soldiers stationed in Karbala, Iraq. That attack left five U.S. soldiers dead and wounded three others. The Karbala raid was both daring and sophisticated, as Iranian-trained terrorists posed as American soldiers during an assault on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center. The assault team was reportedly trained in a mock-up of the center that was built in Iran.

"More than two years later, the Obama administration approved the release of two brothers who were members of the Karbala hit team – Qais and Layith Khazali. The public rationale offered for the Khazalis’ release was that it was part of an Iraqi reconciliation effort. That was a shallow cover story. The Khazalis’ release was almost certainly part of a negotiation to free British hostages. Qais Khazali, the more senior of the two brothers, was released on the same day as Peter Moore, a British hostage held by Khazali’s Iranian-sponsored network."